Freakonomics Summary And Analysis
The first chapter of Freakonomics opens with an experiment that consisted of fining parents who picked up their children late from a day-care center. After the three dollar fine was put into place, the average of late pickups actually doubled (Levitt & Dubner, 2009). The small fine acted as an incentive for parents to start picking their kids up on time, but all it did was send a signal that late pickups were only a three dollar hassle to the day-care center. The incentive ultimately eliminated any of the guilt the parents once had for picking their children up late. This is just one of the ways the authors described the power of incentives and the drastic results they can produce.
The authors then introduce the topic of high-stakes testing, which increases a teacher’s incentive for cheating. If a teacher has students that receive poor test scores, the teacher can be passed over for a raise. In extension, if the whole school does not do well then federal funding can be withheld and the teacher could be fired. Teachers can also receive positive incentives for their students to perform better on the high-stakes testing, which include promises of promotions and bonuses (Levitt & Dubner, 2009). The positive and negative incentives for
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One thing I found very interesting in the section about sumo wrestling was the way the ranking system works. The difference between the most elite and the low ranking wrestlers is shocking. There is a staggering difference between the paychecks, but what shocked me most was that the low ranking sumos are basically slaves to the elite sumos (Levitt & Dubner, 2009). Even though I am not familiar with sumo wrestling, with the help of the statistics provided in the reading and an application of common sense, it is easy to assume that there is some kind of rigging in the
Levitt And Dubner's Freakonomics
931 Words | 4 PagesThe reader observes how, in this case, the incentives of money and success caused teachers to go against what is right and cheat. Bagels, a completely unrelated subject to teachers, is another topic that Levitt and Dubner present in the text in order to show that even rich individuals who may not have to worry about the incentive of money still conduct themselves in a erroneous manner and commit “white-collar crime” (46) by not paying for bagels in the workplace. There are many other topics even more diverse than school teachers and bagels that are discussed in Freakonomics, but even with this variability, the purpose Levitt and Dubner are proving is shown in each
Summary Of The Second Chapter Of Wheelan's Naked Economics
924 Words | 4 PagesIncentives, as read about in the second chapter of Wheelan’s Naked Economics, take on many different faces; good or bad, and all of them are selfish. Incentives are entirely fueled by self-interest and opportunity cost. In order to insure his audience fully grasped the concept of incentives, Wheelan illustrates a variety of example, leaving positive and negative effects on our modern society. Incentives, opportunity costs and self-interest are connected in a way that make the ideas more concrete, and we see that incentives own society. A lot of vital information can be deduced from looking at the incentives of our society.
Steven D. Levitt's Freakonomics
699 Words | 3 Pages“Perfect Parenting, Part II; Or: Would a Roshanda by Any Other Name Smell as Sweet” is the sixth chapter of Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner. This chapter leads off tells a story of four different people with names that are not typical. One child, named Temptress, was charged in family court. One named Loser who became a success in every sense of the word. A man, named Winner, has a criminal record longer than this paper I am writing.
Moral Arguments In Freakonimics
1379 Words | 6 PagesWhether male, female, married, single, conservative or liberal all people have a moral compass. The moral compass in Freakonimics does not point in one direction creating a new approach to economics. Authors Steven D. Levitt and Stephan J. Dubner suggest viewpoints on crime, abortion, and education from an economic prospective while ignoring the right or left minded political viewpoints. Chapter 4 of Freakonimics answers the very question it proposes: “Where have all the criminals gone?” To begin answering the question Levitt and Dubner argue against the causes the press proposed regarding the 1990 crime drop.
Harvest Valley Bathroom
679 Words | 3 PagesLaura KNEW the Positive Behavioral Program would prevail. (“Wanna bet?) One of the challenging aspects to the Harvest Valley Program was constructing a Positive Reward System. The incentive program was based on rewarding the students for positive choices while, holding at the minimum, negative consequences for poor choices.
Freakonomics Research Paper
1236 Words | 5 PagesFreakonomics Essay Freakonomics is a mind bending, engaging and controversial look into a never before talked about side of economics. From relating the Ku Klux Klan to real estate agents and to why drug dealers are living with their moms Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner turn conventional wisdom on its head. As a whole I enjoyed the book, but there were some things that annoyed me and that I didn’t like and/or confused me. Freakonomics makes you think differently about topics you thought you already knew the answer to. To most with little knowledge of writing techniques they would not have noticed/comprehended the authors uses of rhetoric and tone but luckily from these past few years of English classes I was able to pick up and see
Steven D. Levitt's Freakonomics
522 Words | 3 PagesFreakonomics Review Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner’s Harper 2005 New York Times bestselling novel, Freakonomics, digs deep into the hidden side of economics. From comparing the safety of swimming pools and guns to discovering the truth about drug dealing, this book will have the reader questioning everyday life. Although the book uses odd examples and intriguing comparisons, the chapters themselves are tedious and lengthy. Steven D. Levitt is an economist that went to Harvard and MIT for his degree.
Freakonomics Chapter Summary
1017 Words | 5 PagesFreakonomics is somewhat random grab bag of topics. The unifying theme of this book for me was finding ways to ask questions so that one's available statistics and data can provide an answer, time after time they used available statistics to provide some time of reasoning or answers to the question being asked. Some of these efforts were more successful than others. Some of the questions Levitt and Dubner study felt unnecessary, that no one really cares about. But there are also some good subjects.
Rhetorical Analysis Of Freakonomics
1487 Words | 6 PagesThe book Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner talks about many different things, including cheating teachers and sumo wrestlers, how abortion lowered crime rates, how a street crack gang works, and whether the way parents raise their children even matter. These topics seem to have nothing in common, but all of these topics were identified in the same way: an economist (Levitt) looked at school test scores, crime data, and all sorts of other information, looking at them in unconventional ways. Because of that, he has come to many interesting and unique conclusions that make complete sense. These findings were based on some simple ideas: the power of incentives, conventional wisdom is not always right, things may not have obvious causes, and experts often serve their own interests instead of the interests of others. Perhaps the most important idea in the book is, as Levitt and Dubner state, “Knowing what to measure and how to measure it makes a complicated world much less so” (14).
Economics In Steven D. Levitt's Freakonomics
996 Words | 4 PagesAfter the fine is introduced, the number of late pick-ups rises. Researchers concluded that the $3 fine was a poor incentive for parents to pick their children up on time because the fine was too low. They then turn to discuss cheating and how some incentives can encourage dishonesty, comparing school teachers to sumo wrestlers. Using the Chicago Public School System they discuss the connection between incentives and cheating. In 1996, the school system began to give small bonuses to the teachers whose students had a rise in standardized test scores.
Summary Of The Third Chapter Of Freakonomics
867 Words | 4 PagesIn the third chapter of Freakonomics, the question that is asked is “Why do drug dealers still live with their moms?” The first phrase that is brought up in this chapter is “conventional wisdom,” and economist named John Kenneth Galbraith goes into detail and describes this phrase as a type of information, this type of information reinforces one person’s type of interest and well-being. Conventional wisdom is described at convenient and comforting, but it does not always have to be that. It takes a lot for people to even begin to doubt that conventional wisdom is not true. In the rest of the chapter Levitt tries to dispute the different points of conventional wisdom.
Analysis Of Levitt And Dubner's Freakonomics
763 Words | 4 PagesIn chapter four of Freakonomics, Levitt and Dubner discuss the criminal activity occurring in the United states and what the possible causes are for the decrease of crime rate in the 1990’s. The authors bring up several theories as to why the crime rates have decreased such as policemen, stricter gun laws, drug market changes and even abortion laws. Levitt and Dubner do a really good job in explaining the different theories in the decrease of crimes. The authors also provide very interesting points that might make you think differently about something. Some factors may seem hard to believe but it can cause a great impact in society like abortion.
High Stakes Testing Research Paper
1110 Words | 5 PagesDiscussion Post- Chapter 7- High stakes testing Claim: High stakes testing is an extremely problematic political issue within the education system because it holds all students to the same standards regardless of disabilities or disadvantages , it encourages educators to teach strictly on information that relates to the tests, and it can have major consequences for schools across the country that are unable to make Adequete Yearly Progress (AYP). Evidence: The Learning to Teach Edition Nine textbook outlines key disadvantages to high stakes testing. Although the textbook does consider some of the advantages, which include a focus of attention on the achievement of students and providing information on areas where students may need to improve,
Incentive Summary
449 Words | 2 PagesIn my opinion, public educational curriculums and accountability guidelines should be established at the state and local levels where parents/guardians play an integral role in the decision making process. I do not believe standardized tests alone are an accurate measure of a student’s knowledge; their classwork, projects, and literary works also represent a student’s talent and capabilities. In agreement with Robert Schaeffer, a representative for the National Center for Fair & Open Testing, that federal mandated programs such as the No Child Left Behind and The Race to The Top high-stakes tests foster the temptation to cheat because they serve as means to both punish and reward students, teachers, and principals based solely upon test scores (Schaeffer,
Perverse Incentives Analysis
400 Words | 2 PagesIn this chapter, the author talks about how different types of incentives affect the market economy. One of these incentives is called adverse selection. The example used by the author is the pay of American teachers. Teachers are paid based on years of service and experience, not on performance. This leads many teachers who are high performers to leave their field and seek employment where pay is based on merit (pg.36).
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